#DiplomaticCentennial/Dan Adrian Balanescu: Lithuania, Latvia used EU Council Presidency for promotion, we'll follow example

Lithuania and Latvia shared with Romania, starting from their own experiences, the particulars and opportunities specific to the process of preparing and exercising the mandate of the EU Council Presidency, and these consultations have identified good practices such as the opportunity to use European funds to prepare the additional staff involved in the presidency, said Romania's Ambassador to Lithuania and Latvia, Dan Adrian Balanescu, in an interview with AGERPRES.

He also said that both in Lithuania and Latvia, Romania had a diplomat dispatched to the Foreign Ministries, who had the opportunity to closely know the experience of a rotating presidency of the EU Council and to share with the colleagues in the Romanian public administration the implications and the challenges that this mandate implies. "Moreover, the two Baltic countries have also used holding the presidency to promote themselves both in Europe and internationally, which we will undoubtedly do as well," said the Romanian diplomat.

The ambassador also spoke, during the e-mail interview, about the fact that Romania is a very popular tourist destination in Lithuania, still insufficiently capitalized on also due to the absence of a direct airline, and stated that he continues to support the need for opening a direct airline Vilnius-Bucharest and Riga-Bucharest, as these existed not long ago.

At the same time, the Romanian diplomat told us what are the tourist and cultural attractions not to be missed in the two Baltic countries, such as the old town of Vilnius and the Latvian resort of Jurmala on the shores of the Baltic Sea, famous for its wide white-sand beaches.

Last but not least, Dan Adrian Balanescu said that in recent years, Romania's economic relations with Lithuania and Latvia have seen a growing trend, with investments in our country of tens of millions of euros, mainly from Lithuania. Also, the first Lithuanian-Romanian Business Council has been opened this year, whose founders are eight Lithuanian companies that already have business contacts with Romania.

AGERPRES: Lithuania held, as a first, the half-year presidency of the EU Council in H2 2013 and Latvia exercised this position in H1 2015. Given that Romania will hold this position in H1 2019, what can we learn from the experiences of Lithuania and Latvia?

Dan Adrian Balanescu: Since the rotating presidencies of the EU Council held by Lithuania and Latvia, I have initiated demarches with the relevant authorities - the Foreign Ministry, the Government, Parliament, etc. - for a close knowledge of their experience in carrying out the actions specific to this exercise. I appreciated the open and constructive attitude of the Lithuanian and Latvian authorities towards exchanging views on this subject as a proof of the common interest in managing the European agenda as efficiently as possible during the rotating presidency of the EU Council in order to consolidate the European project and unity between member states.

Thus, numerous government and parliamentary consultations have been held at the political and technical level with the two states. Both Lithuania and Latvia share the specificities and opportunities of the process of preparing and exercising the mandate of the Presidency of the EU Council in terms of working agenda, communication and promotion strategy and logistic planning (recruitment and training human resources, timetable development, budget planning). These consultations have identified good practices that can be a valuable source of inspiration for other member states in preparing the mandate of the Presidency of the EU Council. As an example, I would like to mention the opportunity to use European funds to prepare the additional staff involved in the presidency, how to organize large-scale events on the Presidency calendar, such as the Eastern Partnership Summit, or to promote the European Union among citizens, to show that the developments recorded at the European level concern them directly. Also, the two Baltic countries have used the presidency to promote themselves, both in Europe and internationally, which we will undoubtedly do as well.

I must say that both in Lithuania and Latvia we had a diplomat dispatched to the Foreign Ministries, a diplomat who had the opportunity to know closely the experience of a rotating presidency of the Council of the EU and to share these implications and challenges to the colleagues in the Romanian public administration.

AGERPRES: How large is the Romanian community in Lithuania and in what areas do most Romanians established in this country operate? Is there a tight relation with the Basarabian community ? How is the situation in Latvia from this point of view?

Dan Adrian Balanescu: The "Dacia" Association of Romanian language and Culture in Lithuania, composed of people originating from the Republic of Moldova and Romania, was founded in 1989. The number of members with the "Dacia" Association is somewhere around 70 people. According to the most recent statistics, as many as 90 Romanian citizens live in Lithuania, but the number varies, given the duration of the employment contracts - sometimes for fixed periods. Romanians established in Lithuania work for the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), Western Union agency, Klaipeda harbor and other employers of this caliber. The areas of choice are European business, IT, construction, the financial sector, harbor activities. In Latvia, the number of Romanian citizens is around 60. The sectors in which they operate are : European business (BEREC, Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications), communications, constructions, financial-banking services.

AGERPRES: Which Romanian authors are the most translated in Latvian and Lithuanian? Is there an increasing or decreasing trend of the number of these translations? How large are the book markets in Latvia and Lithuania, given the population of these countries?

Dan Adrian Balanescu: In 2014, Briedis publishing house of Lithuania published the novel of author Domnica Radulescu, "Trenul de Trieste" [the Train to Trieste, ed.n.], which was presented at the Book Fair of the same year, in an English translation. Author Domnica Radulescu came from the US in order to participate in this event. Other books published over time are of classic Romanian writers, but also modern ones, such as Eugene Ionescu or Mircea Eliade. A problem here is that there is no authorized translator from Romanian to Lithuanian. In 2009 there were translations made from Romanian to Lithuanian under the generic name "Our Revolution", offered by the daily paper "Jurnalul National" to Lithuanian daily paper "Lietuvos zinios", one of the wielders of opinion of the Baltic region. Published within the column "Pagini de istorie" (History pages), the articles amount to 300 pages, being published in about 6 months. They deal with a series of unique materials, signed by political analysts Vasile Surcel, Valentin Zaschievici, Vladimir Tismaneanu (editor Razvan Belciugat), marking the 20 year anniversary since the Revolution that started on December 22. Lucia Bartkiene was the transalator. Ipolit Leca is responsible for the chapter "Romanian writers", within the 2009 'Universal Lithuanian Encyclopaedia' project.

In Riga, there is a Romanian translator, Leons Briedis. He has 40 books translated from Romanian authors or Romanian language: Nichita Stanescu, Ana Blandiana, Mircea Dinescu, Spiridon Vangheli, Grigore Vieru, etc.
According to the Lithuanian Department of Statistics, during 1991-2014, as many as 85,700 books and brochures were launched in Lithuania, with an annual circulation of 265.9 million; on average: 90 books and brochures per capita. In 2013, 3,356 book titles, of which 1,398 fiction books were released. The largest number of books written by Lithuanian authors was published in the United States - 669, United Kingdom - 231, Russia - 131, Germany - 65 titles. Books written by authors from Argentina, India, Island and Turkey were also published. In 2013, 121 dictionaries and encyclopedias were published. In Latvia, according to statistics, the number of published books dropped from 157,000 in 2009, to 146,000 in 2013. There are 439 publishing houses that publish 2,177 titles per year. The number of published books per capita is 1.5. In 2014, the 1,828 Latvian titles had a circulation of 2,759,949 books. Over 400 titles were translated from English, in 765,046 copies, 74 Russian titles in 82,000 copies, and from German 69 titles, with 106,573 copies.

AGERPRES: You said an interview in 2014 that Romania has supported Lithuania's candidacy for its position as a non-permanent member within the UN Security Council, which was completely successful. Do you think that it is possible, given that Romania is competing against Estonia for the only position of non-permanent member allocated to the East-European Group within the Security Council for the period of 2020-2021, for Lithuania to support Romania's candidacy?

Dan Adrian Balanescu: It is true that Baltic solidarity works very well, especially when very important foreign policy objectives are concerned, such as this one. We have carried out demarches with regard to the Lithuanian part, in order to support our country's candidacy, just as we have carried out active demarches with all UN member states. We will continue to plead for this highly important objective for our country.

AGERPRES: One of your missions in Lithuania and Latvia is to promote the tourist destinations of Romania. How much interest do the Lithuanians and the Latvians show for Romania from the tourist point of view? What could the Romanian stated and the tourism operators of Romania do to boost the tourists flow from the two Baltic countries?

Dan Adrian Balanescu: During my mandate in Vilnius, I have acted to increase the Lithuanians and Latvians interest in Romania as an attractive tourist destination, starting from the idea that our country could offer tourists from these countries several opportunities to spend their holidays. Our embassy participated in three editions of the Adventure International Tourism Fair organised in Vilnius, the most important event of the kind in the Baltic region, scoring over 30,000 visitors annually. Each time we had a national pavilion, made by the mission with promotional stuff from the Tourism Ministry. The embassy representatives promoted at the stand the diversity of our country's tourist places, and the pavilion was well received by the public, the Lithuanian tourists being interested especially in the active holidays, that include several types of tourist attractions. From year to year I found that many of the visitors had already been to Romania, some of whom for several times and being thrilled of their holidays, were looking for offers for new holidays in our country.
Moreover, I have talked with representatives of the Lithuanian tourism agencies, that had Romania included in their tourist offers, either individually or together with Bulgaria, and all of them told me the same thing: Romania is an extraordinary tourist destination, very appreciated in Lithuania, yet not enough capitalised on due to the lack of a direct flight included. We have always backed and will continue to do so the necessity to open some Vilnius-Bucharest and Riga-Bucharest direct flights, as they used to exist until recently.
Also to promote tourism we have organised the visit of some Baltic journalists to Romania and this year, in the context of the Centennial, this project will be resumed.

AGERPRES: After accessing the EU in 2004, Lithuania and Latvia were confronted, just as Romania in the last 10 years, with the labour force exodus, in particular of the young. How are things now and what did the authorities of the two countries do to stimulate the coming back of those who left? Are there initiatives that might be model to Romania?

Dan Adrian Balanescu: The labour force exodus phenomenon especially with the young has very much affected both the Baltic countries, who faced a huge curtailment of their population, beginning with the 1990s. According to the official data, Lithuania recorded a decrease of its population by approximately 850,000 persons, from 3.7 million to 2,872,000 currently. Out of these, most of them - rd 680,000 persons - are the segment of the population that has chosen to migrate. The most preferred destination is the United Kingdom, with 47 pct, followed by Norway, Ireland, Germany, etc.
In its turn, Latvia was affected by the emigration of rd 500,000 citizens only in 1996 - 2016, most of them leaving for the UK, Germany and the Northern states. Currently, Latvia counts for roughly below 2 million inhabitants.
Both countries are striving to put a halt to this phenomenon, by increasing wages and improving the public services, with visible progress.

AGERPRES: When I was in Vilnius in July 2013, on the occasion of the launching of the Lithuanian Presidency of the EU Council, I had the opportunity to assist to a folk dances show of a folk ensemble of Romania in the old centre of the city that enjoyed the appreciation of the locals and tourists. What events do you plan in Lithuania and Latvia to mark the 1918 Greater Union's Centennial?

Dan Adrian Balanescu: Events such as the one of July 2013 - which was organised with support from our embassy - have been and will be staged constantly given that the promotion of Romanian culture and traditions abroad is among our priorities. Our embassy has organized in both Lithuania and Latvia several shows of folk ensembles from various regions of Romania, such as Maramures and Vrancea.
In 2018, when both Romania and the two Baltic states celebrate their Centennial, our mission is to stage certain events to mark this anniversary moment. For instance, there will be exhibitions dedicated to Romania's WWI effort, to royalty or the interwar period, the inauguration of a monument dedicated to the Centennial, the organization of a visit to Romania of a group of Lithuanian and Latvian journalists, of a Livia Maiorescu anniversary concert, added to many other events.
In this context, on 11 and 12 April 2018, in Riga and in Vilnius, respectively, the Romanian Embassy opened in cooperation with the Cotroceni National Museum the photographic exhibition 'Greater Union. From the WWI victory to the crowning of the Greater Romania sovereigns'. Then, on 16 May our mission organized in collaboration with the Balio Dvarionis Music School in Vilnius and the support of the 'Iosif Sava' Music and Plastic Arts School No. 1 of Bucharest, an extraordinary concert of the students with the Music School of Vilnius, who played vocal and instrumental works of Romanian composers, such as: George Enescu, Sabin Dragoi, Radu Paladi, Anatol Vieru, Tiberiu Brediceanu, Ludvic Feldman, G. Stefanescu.
To complete these events dedicated to the large public, we have promoted the importance of the Greater Union's Centennial in the Latvian academic milieu, too, by advocating the participation of the management of the Diplomatic Archives with the Romanian Foreign Ministry in the Europe 100, After/Before international conference, unfolded in Riga, on 7 May 2018, whose theme was the Centennial of the South-Eastern and Central European states.

AGERPRES: Would you please give a one-line characterization for Lithuania, Latvia respectively?

Dan Adrian Balanescu: Lithuania - a country with a strong, distinct presence on the international scene. Latvia - a pragmatic and highly hospitable country.

AGERPRES: What do you tell Romanians who arrive in one of these two countries that the visit's must-dos should be?

Dan Adrian Balanescu: In Lithuania I would recommend visiting Vilnius, in particular the Old Town - the largest of the three Baltic capital cities which is listed as UNESCO heritage site, as well as the Baltic Sea littoral, especially the Nida resort. Lithuania is the homeland of amber, so beauty lovers can find some interesting offers here. There are amber museums too. The Lithuanian kitchen lists a few delicious dishes including cheeses, beer, a tree-shaped cake called Sakotis and their national dish cepelinai - meat-stuffed potatoes. For sport lovers one should say basketball is the national sport of Lithuania, a true religion, therefore I warmly recommend watching a basketball game.
As for Latvia, Riga is the country's major attraction with its splendid Old Town and Art Nouveau buildings. Riga also has some interesting museums of which I'd mention the Museum of the Occupation, which illustrates the tragic history of the Nazi and Soviet occupations. Downtown Riga has lots of picturesque restaurants where one can hang out till late night, often with accompanying live music. In Riga one shouldn't miss their national drink Black Balsam, a plant liquor that is available in several variants. I'd say that if you are in Riga you should also get to their beautiful Baltic Sea resort Jurmala, which is famous for its wide beaches with white and fine sand.

AGERPRES: What is the greatest challenge you faced since being Ambassador to Lithuania and Latvia?

Dan Adrian Balanescu: For me, personally, maybe the greatest challenge was adjusting to the weather at the end of fall and early winter when the days are short, skies are overcast all the time by low hanging clouds and it rains every day. But not to do Baltic weather injustice, I'd say summer is a real splendor.

AGERPRES: What is the amount of Lithuanian and Latvian investments in Romania? More generally speaking, what is the dynamics of economic relations between Romania and the two Baltic countries?

Dan Adrian Balanescu: In recent years, Romania's economic relations with Lithuania and Latvia have followed an upward trend, driven by the very good bilateral political relations. There are currently 98 trading companies with Lithuanian capital in Romania with the subscribed equity capital amounting to 4.66 million dollars; there are also 57 trading companies with Latvian capital with 2.1 million dollar worth of subscribed equity capital. Investments are far higher for sure, around an estimated several tens of millions of euro in the case of Lithuania, with Hanner and Arvi as major investors. Bilateral trade exchanges with Lithuania reached 168.40 million euro in 2017 and commerce with Latvia attained 45.64 million euro.
I'd like to emphasize the fact that the Bucharest visit of Speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament Viktoras Pranckietis (October 15 - 17, 2017), and the economic forum organized on this occasion have given bilateral economic cooperation a new boost. Following this visit the Romanian concern Green Group, specializing in waste recycling, made the decision to open a plant in Vilnius - GreenTech Lithuania, on an investment of 10 million euro.
I would also like to mention the inauguration this year - under the aegis of the Vilnius Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts, of the first Lithuanian - Romanian Business Council, an initiative of the Romanian diplomatic mission and of our country's honorary consul to Lithuania. The founders of the Lithuanian - Romanian Business Council are eight Lithuanian companies that already have business contacts to Romania: Ltd. Green-Tech Baltic (plastic recycling), MB Kokybes klubas (business consulting), UAB Traidenis (water cleaning technology), JSC Ekenex (wood exploitation), UAB Comfort Heat (heating systems), Zeta Law Advocatu Kontora (law firm), UAB Aviaturas ir Partneriai (air transport) and UAB Imlitex Group (raw materials distribution). The goal of the Business Council is to promote investments and commercial exchanges between Romania and Lithuania, and I assured the members of the Council of our Embassy's entire support. AGERPRES (RO - author: Florin Stefan, editor: Mariana Ionescu; EN - authors: Bogdan Gabaroi, Catalin Cristian Trandafir, Maria Voican, Simona Klodnischi, editors: Simona Iacob, Adina Panaitescu)